Jeweller - September 2020

MARKETING REVIEW | Brand Ambassadors
L to R: Elle Fanning, Lady Gaga, and Lupita Nyong’o for Tiffany & Co.
At the time, Ad.ly CEO Arnie Gullov-Singh
said, “[We are] tapping the $50 billion
spend on endorsements worldwide as
well as the $35 billion spent in digital
advertising. If people are the new
publishers, then people are also the
future of advertising, and celebrities are
the new ‘prime time’.”
Ad.ly’s ‘Consumer Influence Index’
sought to determine which celebrities
drove the most consumer traffic to
advertisers’ websites in the US; in 2011,
the top 10 featured Kim, Khloé and
Kourtney Kardashian, TV personality
Lauren Conrad, and rapper and
presenter Snoop Dogg.
Since then, the social media landscape
has rapidly evolved – and many watch
and jewellery brands have adapted their
marketing tactics to take advantage of its
influence over consumer purchasing.
While employing a number of wellknown
celebrities in its traditional
marketing, including Elle Fanning, Lupita
Nyong’o and Kendall Jenner, Tiffany &
Co. has also created online-only social
media campaigns with younger and more
digitally-oriented stars, such as dancer
Maddie Ziegler and actress Yara Shahidi.
Notably, the brand also created a
campaign with male luxury travel
influencer Jack Morris, who posts under
the Instagram handle @doyoutravel
and has 2.7 million followers. Morris
promoted the more affordable Tiffany
& Co. items, usually around $US250.
David Yurman – a US jewellery brand
which once garnered headlines for its
use of A-list celebrity models such as
Kate Moss and Gisele Bündchen – began
pursuing an influencer strategy several
years ago. One of its most successful
campaigns was with Blair Eadie, founder
of fashion blog Atlantic Pacific and
Instagram account @blaireadiebee, which
has 1.6 million followers.
Over several years, Eadie incorporated
David Yurman pieces into her popular
outfit posts and showed consumers how
to style them, as well as interacting and
answering product questions. Yurman
was able to repurpose Eadie’s content for
its social media channels.
However, William Comcowich, founder
and CEO of Glean.info By Cyberalert and
a Jeweller contributor, explains, “It may
be tempting to bundle celebrities like
Kim Kardashian, Justin Bieber and Taylor
Swift in the same category as lesserknown
social media influencers. But
the two groups are different, even if both
have plenty of followers.
“Celebrity endorsements and sponsored
influencer content have similarities
and may overlap at times, but the two
strategies entail different advantages and
disadvantages. It’s crucial to understand
those differences to develop effective PR
or social media marketing campaigns.”
Comcowich says that while celebrities can
deliver “substantial reach and boost brand
awareness” as well as increasing ‘earned
media’ – that is, generating unpaid media
coverage – influencers offer more niche
appeal, credibility, expertise, and higher
engagement with consumers. Combined,
these can generate higher click-through
rates and increased sales.
“Celebrity endorsements on social media
are more akin to traditional television
advertising than influencer marketing…
Seeing the #ad or #sponsored hashtag,
followers generally understand that they’re
viewing a sponsored endorsement. They
consider the celebrity as a conduit for the
brand’s message,” he explains.
“On the other hand, top-notch
influencers who specialise in a niche
answer questions from followers and
communicate with them in a back-andforth
exchange.”
Additionally, influencers are often able
CONSIDER THIS
Celebrities
vs
Influencers
REACH & BRAND
AWARENESS
Celebrities have greater
cross-media exposure
and also generate more
earned media coverage,
increasing the reach
of a campaign beyond
the digital realm
CREDIBILITY &
EXPERTISE
Influencers are seen as
more trustworthy than
celebrities, particularly
if they are known
for their knowledge
of a specific product
category such as
make-up, fashion, or
technology
ENGAGEMENT &
CONVERSION
While many influencers
have fewer overall
followers than
celebrities on social
media, they may boast
a higher engagement
rate as they interact
with followers and
encourage them to
purchase
COST & VALUE
It can be far less
expensive to engage
an influencer than a
celebrity to endorse a
brand, however their
effectiveness depends
on the consumer
segment being targeted
and the marketing goals
to create original content which brands can
then re-share, and are often less expensive to
hire than celebrities. An example of a hybrid
approach to celebrity endorsement is Thomas
Sabo’s signing of British pop star Rita Ora as
its global ‘face’ in 2019. Ora – who is also a
presenter, actress, and model – boasts 16.1
million followers on Instagram alone.
Not only does Ora appear on in-store signage
and other materials across international
markets, but also promotes the brand online
using a designated hashtag.
Thomas Sabo is also distributed by DGA,
with Edwards explaining, “Rita Ora’s selfconfident
appearance, her authenticity and
passion for realising her own dreams make
her a trendsetter in a global community –
characteristics that perfectly underline the
vision of Thomas Sabo jewellery.
“By working with Rita Ora, Thomas Sabo
wanted to address target groups of all ages
and underline the international orientation
of the brand. The campaign with Rita Ora
focuses on jewellery as a powerful companion
and expression of one’s own personality.”
Thomas Sabo also uses other social media
influencers, who create local content for
different markets.
Perhaps that is the biggest lesson brands
can take from the evolution of the brand
ambassador model. Simply luring the
highest-profile star you can find to provide an
endorsement for your product is no longer
enough to strengthen your brand.
There is a clear indication that well thought out
celebrity-brand matchmaking requires both
local and global power, and the ability of the
star to create trust and connection with their
audience – particularly through social media.
Without a natural association between
ambassador and product, consumers are
more likely to be left confused and cynical
rather than star-struck and invigorated with
positive purchase intent. Simply put: if the face
doesn’t fit, consumers won’t wear it.
36 | September 2020